IV: Co-ownership property companies

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Article 1655 ter

French General Tax CodeIn force

Updated 7 Nov 2023

Subject to the provisions of

Article 60

, 2° of I of

article 827

and 2° of the I of article 828, companies whose sole purpose is either the construction or acquisition of buildings or groups of buildings with a view to their division into fractions intended to be allocated to the members in ownership or in jouissance, or the management of these buildings or groups of buildings thus divided, or the letting on behalf of one or more of the members of the company of all or part of the properties or fractions of properties belonging to each of these members, are deemed, regardless of their legal form, not to have a personality distinct from that of their members for the application of direct taxes, registration duties, land registration tax payable on deeds that give rise to the merged formality pursuant to

Article 647

, as well as assimilated taxes (1).

In particular, partners or shareholders are personally liable for income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, on the portion of corporate income corresponding to their rights in the company.

Mariela Petrova

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Common Questions

Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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